Yes, it is very important to take good care of the one body God has blessed you with here in the present, but it is even more important to be all that God has called you to be. Our spiritual life is not about trying to do good in our own strength to earn God’s love, acceptance, and plans for our lives.

When we are quiet and slow down, we make space for the Lord. I am so guilty of crowding the Lord out because of my busyness (even if the busy things are good things). So, I invited the Lord to meet me. I prayed “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).

But comparison steals joy. Do not judge yourself based on a fitness model’s body. Do not be ashamed of staying at a Holiday Inn because a travel blogger is at the Ritz. God created you, perfectly and uniquely as you are. Comparing ourselves to people we see on social media steals our joy. We need to constantly and intentionally choose to rid ourselves of the comparison goggles and choose to be content and find joy and beauty in our own lives.

I think He knew I’d fall for the horses. He knew that my lack of trust in my body would remain until I was forced to come face-to-face with it, and so, He began a passion in me that would require such a confrontation. Thank you God for always having a plan, even though right now it feels like you are poking me in all of my tender places.

Mercy Multiplied was founded by Nancy Alcorn in 1983 after an eight-year career working for the state of Tennessee at a correctional facility and investigating child abuse cases. She began to realize that only Jesus could bring restoration into the lives of girls who were desperately hurting.

Today Mercy homes exist in Monroe, LA; Nashville, TN; St. Louis, MO; and Sacramento, CA. International affiliates exist in the United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand.